Tag: Marketing

Social Media & Digital Marketing Glossary

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Clueless on SEO, unsure of whether you should #FF or scratching your head at the prospect of writing a meta description? Fear not, as we have compiled the ultimate jargon free Social Media and Digital Marketing glossary, ensuring you have a better understanding of these rather technical terms! With Social Media & Digital Marketing becoming more useful and influential, it’s worth keeping up-to-date on these concepts!

Breadcrumbs – A navigation trail for somebody who visits your website, giving direction of how to return to the homepage from any given page, e.g. Homepage>About Us>Careers.

Direct Message (DM’s) – A method of contacting privately other Twitter users, often only achieved if there’s a mutual follow, yet, depending on privacy settings this isn’t always the case.

Embedding – incorporating an external web link into your digital platform which displays content from a different location. i.e. a video from YouTube, slides from SlideShare video or photo which is hosted outside of your publishing platform.

Engagement rate –  a metric which shows the number of interactions with your digital content, i.e. visiting a webpage, clicking on a link, expanding a photo, likes, retweets, commenting: interacting in general. The higher the metric, the better the content!

Geotag – Twitter & Instagram allow people to ‘tag’ or pinpoint a location e.g. London, which involves the directional coordinates to be attached to content like a picture.

GIF – aka Graphics Interchange Format, a series of pictures or animation/clips from movies used to illustrate an emotion or even in response to a live event.

HTML – ‘Hypertext mark-up language’, programming language used to build and edit a website.

Impressions – the number of times content is viewed without it necessarily being searched or even clicked on.

Live streaming & live tweeting – delivering content over the internet in real-time, i.e. Periscope (Twitter) & Facebook Live. Tweeting, in real-time, live updates or events.

Meta description – description of your website or page which appears in the search results.

Ow.ly & bit.ly – tools that shorten the original URL of a webpage to considerably less characters. Highly beneficial to Twitter , where a maximum of 140 characters can be used in any post, which also includes analytics to determine click-through.

Promoted/sponsored content – content that is promoted and paid to appear by advertisers, in targeted publications or as the primary result from a search engine query. Often used to quickly raise the profile of a brand or product in association with a topic, keyword or service.

PPC – ‘Pay per click’, a fee is paid every time someone clicks on the advert.

Page rank – in a Google search ,it is where your page appears in relation to a relevant search query. Ranking is determined by Google’s algorithm which includes factors such as: relevance to search term, frequency of clicks, freshness of content, how long visitors spend on the page & HTML structure. Ideally, it’s best to ensure you appear on the first page of results, as 80% of searchers won’t click past the first page Page (reference?)

SEO – ‘Search engine optimisation’ is the practice of affecting the visibility of a website within search engines. Broadly speaking, methods to improve SEO can be categorised into two areas:

On-page SEO – Relevant, fresh, concise content which visitors spend time reading, and hopefully sharing, tells search engines that your page is valuable and your website is current. Seamlessly weaving keywords into well written content that loads quickly, is easy to navigate on any format, whether on a computer or mobile, helps with on-page SEO.

Search engines constantly crawl and index websites. Displaying quality content in a structured format that search engines recognise, improves ranking. So make sure page attributes such as meta descriptions, alt tags and sector titles are all present.

Off-page SEO – Simply put, this is the process of having links to your website from credible web sources. Search engines rank websites in terms of authority and relevance. This is where reviews, professional affiliations,  PR, social media and customer endorsement online can be used to help boost your ranking.  I.E. If you are a member of a trade organisation, have a link to and from their website.

Scheduling – using a social media platforms advanced functionality to schedule the publishing of content in advance, often used to target individuals in different time zones.

Trending topic – a list of the topics that are currently generating the most interest on social media. Clicking on the topic link reveals the most popular associated content.

We hope these explanations are helpful, if you are interested in other definitions do let us know!

At brookscomm we have over 20 years’ of PR expertise and a proven track record of success. We can aid you and your business, call us on 01483 537 890 or, alternatively, email us hello@brookscomm.com

Follow: Twitter: @PRexpertsUK  Linkedin:brookscomm Website:www.brookscomm.com

Why networking still matters

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Humans are social animals and networking is a crucial part of life. From a young age, we learn to network effectively, enabling us to survive and thrive in the modern world. Just as in life, effective networking in business is vital to enhance reputation and expand connections.

According to Virgin.com, via hubspot, a staggering 95% of people view face to face meetings as essential to building successful business relationships.

For networking success 72% were significantly influenced by eye contact and a firm handshake.

High achieving modern professionals are expected to network on behalf of their businesses regularly. Whether it is a business briefing over breakfast, a party or general event, networking is crucial to promoting you and your business. In an ever changing, super busy workplace prioritising and juggling roles cleverly is vital. Which is why we have compiled these simple but effective networking tips, to get the most out of every single networking event.

Research

  • Prior to the event, do as much research as possible: find out who the attendees are, the host and, if there is an event hashtag, follow it!
  • Ensure your Linkedin is up to date & that your business cards are in check! No business cards? Fear not, the Linkedin mobile app will suffice and is just as effective, if not more so!
  • Prepare an elevator pitch about yourself and the company you work.
  • Be aware of current trends and topical issues that could be affecting a variety of businesses – it’s a great conversation starter!
  • Establish goals before you arrive. Do you want to learn from the industry, meet new people or collect 5 business cards?

Relax

  • Remember quality over quantity. Rather than just handing out as many business cards as possible, instead establish rapport and be sincere!
  • Relax, have fun and be yourself!
  • Focus on quality conversations and establishing worthwhile connections, without being overtly salesy!

Follow up

  • A day or so after the event, send a follow up email or contact them on LinkedIn reminding them who you are. Make sure you check in every so often to keep in touch! These connections can and often do lead to future opportunities.

These tips have worked well for us and we hope they will benefit you too! Happy networking!

At brookscomm we have over 20 years’ of PR expertise and a proven track record of success. We can aid you and your business, call us on 01483 537 890 or, alternatively, email us info@brookscomm.com

Follow: Twitter: @PRexpertsUK  Linkedin:brookscomm Website:www.brookscomm.com

Diary of a PR newbie

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Joe RamseyI’m currently studying for a career in Marketing and recently spent some time with the team at brookscomm team to learn about what goes on at a busy PR and Marketing agency. Here’s my account:

Wednesday 27/08/2016

On arrival at brookscomm I was greeted by the team, they instantly made me feel welcome and comfortable amongst them. I was firstly taken for an introduction chat where Mandy gave me an overview on PR and the objectives of the business. This was very helpful as it meant I was able to get some background on the company I was working for. After Mandy had finished, Jo then took over and spoke in more detail about how the office is run, she also informed me of the tasks I would be carrying out.

Digital marketing

Mike was next to approach me, he specialises in digital marketing which is one of my personal interests. He took me through various slideshows on personas and how PR is properly used for B2B. I found this very informative and beneficial. Mike is a very good communicator and is able to give you the relevant information whilst making you think and analyse for yourself.

The other member of the team is Ali who I worked with later in the day.

My first task was to do some research into blood doping for one of the clients, this was very difficult due to the variances in this subject however I was helped by Mike who was able to direct me correctly.

Team work

A team meeting was then called, the whole team gathered to discuss the position of their clients and their objectives for the coming days. I sat in on this session, it gave me an insight into how a PR businesses makes decisions and handles its clients. This meeting was positive throughout and each member of the team looked for my input which made me feel comfortable and able to contribute where appropriate.
After lunch I went back to work with Mike on the new website design. I analysed the website and then did similar for competitors, this exercise allowed brookscomm to get a new opinion on its website and what may be beneficial to change or maintain.

I concluded the day by working with Ali. She walked me though the process of getting a press release published, she also outlined the benefits of doing this for both the brand involved and brookscomm. She involved me in the process which was fantastic as I was able to see the theory behind it then get involved in the practical element of the press release, this gave me the tools to write my own press release.

Thursday 28/07/16

My day started by drafting a press release on one of Brookscomm’s clients. I did some research into the product, made some notes, and looked at similar products and their press releases. This research allowed me to have an in depth knowledge of the product and then write a press release. This took me the whole of the morning to complete. After lunch I sat down with Chaz Brooks who gave me feedback on my work, He was able to point out what was done well and how I would improve next time. This was helpful because I was able to see which aspects of my work needed altering.

Using Social Media

My next task was to compose some specific tweets about the business re-branding. Mandy sat down with me and communicated what she wanted to see being tweeted. This was a relatively simple task for me as I am a keen user of Twitter and other social media. The only thing I struggled with on this task is using appropriate language to reach my target audience.

Summary

Overall my experience with brookscomm was brilliant, they offer a highly professional working environment whilst making all the staff welcome and comfortable. brookscomm is an open forum for new and existing ideas to be considered and implemented. Everyone that works for brookscomm is clearly very well trained and believe in what they are working for, this means their personal and business goals complement each other and become easily reached through hard work. I am very thankful to be given the opportunity to work for brookscomm and its staff, I believe I have learnt skills and techniques that will benefit me immediately and later in life.

I’d like to thank Mandy, Chaz and all the staff for welcoming me into their work environment and sharing their knowledge with me.

Best wishes,

Joe Ramsey

HOW TO GUIDE: Customer testimonials

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Customer testimonials are a fantastic endorsement of the great service that you offer and the value that you bring. With platforms like LinkedIn, it’s easy to endorse and recommend each other, and third party praise greatly enhances your personal and your business reputation. When you’ve worked hard to provide an exceptional service, it’s extremely rewarding to get good comments back!

Quotes from an external source give you credibility. However to maximise opportunities for testimonials from willing clients and to use them to best effect, we suggest that you make sure they are: 

Specific

Although it is good to have some general endorsements for your company, it’s the specific quotes that will add the most value. These will help in your prospects’ decision making, and provide a key insight into how you operate as a business and what you ultimately deliver. If a client is writing a testimonial for you, give them direction where you can by suggesting particular services and topics to mention. We find that clients are generally very happy for us to write them on their behalf as this saves them time, but that they like to tweak to add some of their personality.  🙂

Convincing

Make sure each testimonial is realistic. It needs to be believable to be powerful.  This testimonial could be one of the first impressions that a prospect will have of you so it needs to be engaging enough to impress but not over the top in its praise – it’s a balancing act.  Value for money, cost/time savings, economic benefits and superior quality or performance make for compelling reading, as does a positive statement regarding your business relationship/trustworthiness.

Used correctly

Take your time when deciding where best to place your testimonials – websites are usually the best place to start, but you may need to think carefully about when and how often to put them into  emails or written documents.  Again, it’s a fine balance – you don’t want to use them so much that your prospects find it insincere, but you do want them to be aware of others’ recommendations.

Diverse


It’s wise to have a range of testimonials to best represent your services. Try to cover as many services as possible to show that you’re not a one-trick pony, but expert in a range of fields. This will make you more appealing to a wider variety of prospects.

Approved


Make sure your client is happy for you to use their quote as a testimonial. This is not only courteous, but also crucial for maintaining a good relationship with your client in the years to come.

For more advice on how to maximise your content, please leave a comment below or tweet us @UKmarketingUK.